Prairie Coordinator's Report, Fall 2004

By Brenda Frick, Ph.D.

My role at OACC is to conduct, coordinate and communicate producer-oriented research in organic agriculture in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. We are involved in a number of projects.

Research In Manitoba
We started two new projects looking at ways to make phosphorus more available in organic systems.

• With University of Manitoba researchers Martin Entz and Matthew Wiens, we are looking at the ability of green manure crops to make phosphorus available to crops that follow in rotation. We have used buckwheat, mustard, berseem clover, a mixture of pea and fabean, and oat as cover crops. Some plots will receive composted manure, or rock phosphate. Next year we will measure phosphorus content in both the soil and the crop tissues and compare these among treatments.
  
  
• With Brandon area farmers (members of the BARN network) and Marcia Monreal and Cindy Grant of the Brandon Research Centre, we are looking at the impact of mycorrhizal inputs, bacterial inoculants and rock phosphate on phosphorus uptake.

Additional projects at the University of Manitoba

• Alison Nelson and Jane Froese continue to examine the benefits of crop rotations in reducing soil erosion on organic farms.
• Matthew Wiens and Martin Entz showed that substantial nitrogen and weed control benefits can be achieved by using alfalfa mulch, even without tillage for incorporation.
• Three AAFC Winnipeg cereal breeders (Steven Fox, Jennifer Mitchell-Fetch and Doug Brown) are screening oat and wheat lines under organic production in collaboration with Martin Entz (U of M). The goal is to breed cereal varieties better suited to organic production.
• The Glenlea long-term rotation study (in its 13th year) continues to show that with the right rotation and management, organic production is very sustainable.
• Jackie Pridham is conducting research on intercropping within crop types (wheat cultivar mixtures) and between crops (wheat in combination with many different cereal and broadleaved crops).
• Cathy Welch, Mario Tenuta and Martin Entz are investigating the different forms of phosphorus in organically-managed soils.
• Dr. Odean Lukow (AAFC Winnipeg) and Martin Entz are investigating the baking quality of organically vs conventionally-grown spring wheat cultivars.

Research In Saskatchewan
This year I welcomed Jennifer Bromm to the OACC Prairie Office. She has been largely responsible for two projects that she reports on below:

• The first project is a seeding rate experiment, in which 11 different farmers participated. The seeding rate study focused on wheat seeded at the conventional rate, then 1.25x, 1.5x and 2x the conventional rate. In the spring, crop and weed emergence counts were taken from all the participating producer fields. About mid-summer, the fields were re-visited and weed samples or biomasses were collected. As we head into fall, yield samples will be gathered. Some of the farmers are able to collect the yields them selves while others will be finished manually. After the yields have been collected, all the prairie data will be sent to Truro, Nova Scotia where Roxanne Beavers will sort through the numbers. Roxanne plans to use the data collected to write her masters thesis this year. She is studying seeding rate effects with Andy Hammermeister. The seeding rate experiment was designed to see if increasing seeding rates reduces weed competition while maintaining or increasing crop yield. We look forward to Roxanne's results.
  
  
• Project two focused on weed control through the use of harrows. In the spring, 7 producers agreed to participate in the harrowing experiment. As the spring progressed it became clear that most farmers were not able to drive in the fields due to above average rainfall. The number of producers able to participate dropped down to 3. The farmers who participated were asked to simply leave a strip in the harrowed field that was not harrowed. This allowed OACC to conducted crop and weed counts on the same field within areas harrowed and those not harrowed. We plan to head out this fall and collect crop yield samples in order to determine the effect harrowing has had on the crop and the yield. OACC has would like to continue this experiment to better understand the effectiveness of harrowing.

Additional projects at University of Saskatchewan

• Yvonne Lawley and Steve Shirtliffe are looking for optimal seeding rates, for lentil, pea and chickling vetch used as green manure cover crops under weedy and non weedy conditions.
• Eric Johnson and Steve Shirtliffe are comparing mechanical tillage methods for reducing weed populations
• Diane Knight and Steve Shirtliffe continue looking at the effectiveness of organic amendments to increase phosphorus uptake, and are comparing the performance of crop varieties under organic management
• Masae Takeda completed her Masters thesis: Solubilization of rock phosphate by Penicillium bilaiae: Mechanisms and the feasibility for use in organic crop production.

Projects at Scott Research Farm, managed by Stewart Brandt, Eric Johnson and Sherrilyn Phelps, in collaboration with additional researchers

• Comparisons of cereal cultivars under organic management
• Development of early flowering flax cultivars for organic production
• Organic flax agronomy, looking at the interaction of seeding date and pre-seeding tillage for weed control
• Green manure options for organic growers.
• Strategies to replace soil P removed in organic cropping systems.
• Intercropping and cross seeding effects on weed populations and crop yields
• Screening of pulses for NW Saskatchewan - soybean, fababean, fenugreek, pea, chickpea, lentil
• Increasing release of available P from rock phosphate.
• Alternative cropping study - a long term rotation study involving 3 levels of inputs [high, reduced and organic] with 3 levels of cropping diversity [low; diversified annual grains; diversified annual-perennial].
• Vinegar used for organic control of broadleaf weeds in spring wheat
• Mechanical Weed Control Studies
  • Min-Till rotary hoe pre- and post-emergence in pulses
  • Min-Till rotary hoe post-emergence in wheat
  • Post-emergence harrowing in field pea
  • Post-emergence harrowing in wheat, oat, and barley
  • Mowing for weed control in cereals

Research In Alberta
We also welcomed Melanie Kalischuck who has joined OACC efforts at Lethbridge with Jill Clapperton.
Melanie is largely responsible for a project that compares several cover crops, grown under both irrigation and dryland conditions. As well, plots seeded to cover crop mixtures last year were seeded to wheat this year. Comparisons of weed levels, wheat nutrient status and mycorrhizal colonization are used to assess the value of the cover crops.

Additional projects at the University of Alberta
Heather Mason, Amy Kaut, and Dean Spaner continue their comparisons of different wheat varieties grown under organic and conventional management. Their comparisons include varieties developed at different times, varieties grown in mixtures, and even different cereals grown in mixture.

Growing Research Potential

• We continue to invite producers to help us set research priorities. One way to do this is to participate in an Organic Prairie Research Coalition. We will be exploring this possibility at the Organic Connections conference. We welcome your participation.
• Research costs money. Often governmental sources of funding require matching funds from industry. If you are interested in contributing to these funds, we would love to talk to you about this. Sponsors are offered advertising opportunities on the OACC website, and on promotional materials.
• We welcome Interlake Forage Seeds as our first OACC Prairie Partner. Thank you, Interlake, for getting our fundraising efforts off to a great start!
  

Spreading the Organic Message
Jennifer and I enjoyed a number of field days this summer. We thank all the producers and researchers who hosted us, for sharing such good fellowship and such interesting projects.

• Ron Hamilton and Steve Snider hosted a field day in the Camrose, AB area in early July. Ron introduced us to pastured chickens, turkeys, cattle and pigs. Sunworks certifies to organic standards and to humane society free range standards. Steve showed us seed cleaning equipment, tillage equipment, cereal and green manure crops, and research plots done in association with the University of Alberta. He also hosting a lovely bbq, using some of Ron's chickens.
• Research at the Scott Research Farm continues to dazzle, even on the coldest summer field day I have ever attended. Many of the on-going projects were described last year. New projects include mowing barley for weed management, various green manure options, and seeding crops together for weed management and crop benefits.
• OCIA #1, SK's field day featured an abundance of flax, buckwheat, cereals, and of course, hospitality.
• OCIA #8, SK's field day featured rangeland management with Julie Korol of the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, crop and beef production with Kevin Beach, and compost and weed management with Cal Cowan. As always, great information was combined with great food and great fellowship.
• OCIA #5, SK's field day provided insight into Don and Donna Kizlyk's market garden, as well as crop tours and a delicious organic roast beef meal.
• SOCA, SK's field day featured wonderful organic food as well as a tour of vegetable gardens, u-pick berries, flower gardens, area grain crops, including Dave Cook's flax and sweet clover, area wheat, pea and oat fields, Calvin Arnold's bale wrapping and a heavy disk demonstration.

Organic Connections, Saskatoon, November 14-16, 2004

I hope to see many of you at the Organic Connections conference this fall. We invite you to a party that will connect the organic community in a celebration of organic food, organic farmers, organic methods, and organic opportunities. Come and share in the information, the networking, the community and the excitement!

• We share in Fiesta Cuba, an organic gala with guest speaker Redimio Pedraza Olivera, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in Camagüey, Cuba. This celebration is a fundraiser for CHEP and their food security initiatives (www.chep.org)
• We have over 60 speakers including scientists, master farmers, marketers and innovators. They will share tips on grain, livestock and alternative production, on successful marketing strategies and on health and environmental alternatives.
• Our tradeshow features buyers, organic products and services for organic producers
• We have a special feature on biodynamic farming, an exciting move that takes organics to the next level.
• We will celebrate with food, music, awards, prizes in our evening event at the Western Development Museum
• We have over 30 sponsors, indicating tremendous broad-based support. Come and join us for this prairie-wide event.

I encourage you to contact me if you have any comments, suggestions, recommendations, or innovations to share.

Contact information:
Brenda Frick, c/o Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A8

Tel: (306) 966-4975 Fax: (306) 966-5015 Email: brenda.frick@usask.ca

Find out more information about the Organic Connections conference at www.organicconnections.ca